sc a newsletter - society for california archaeology2).pdf · 2019-10-15 · sca newsletter 43(2)...

Society for

California Archaeology

NewsletterFounded 1966 Volume 43, Number 2 July 2009

What's Inside:Proceedings are now online!

Report from the Information Centers

Events calendar

Name the archaeologists in this photo (answers on page 2)

SCA Newsletter 43(2)

Table of Contents From the President ............................................................................................ 3

As I Write This Column…. ........................................................................... 3

SCA Business and Activities .............................................................................. 4

Committee Reports ............................................................................................. 4

Grants and Fundraising Report .................................................................. 4

Proceedings Report ................................................................................... 5

Nominations Report ................................................................................... 5

CASSP Activities ........................................................................................ 6

Liaison Reports .................................................................................................... 7

Historical Archaeology in the News ........................................................... 7

Legislative Liaison Report .......................................................................... 8

Report from the California Information Centers ......................................... 9

Society for Historical Archaeology/SCA Liaison Report ........................... 11

The Society for American Archaeology News Report .............................. 12

Meeting Reports and Minutes ........................................................................... 13

SCA Executive Board Meeting, July 16-17, 2009 .................................... 13

SCA News and Notes ....................................................................................... 14

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Is the First State Park in the Nation to Host a Passport in Time Archaeological Project ...................... 14

Thoughts on Receiving the Society for California Archaeology’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 ........................................................................ 15

Inaugural Conference on Lime and Lime Kilns in California History ........ 18

Professional Standards and Ethics:Who Cares?...................................... 19

SCA Calendar of Events ................................................................................. 22

The Society for California Archaeology Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter of information essential to California archaeology. Opinions, commentary, and editorials appearing in the Newsletter represent the view of the authors, and not necessarily those of the Board or Editors. Authors should be aware that their contributions may appear on the SCA website, unless otherwise specified.

Email submissions to [email protected] or mail them to the SCA Business Office:

1692 Mangrove Avenue, Suite #153 Chico, CA 95926 Newsletter co-editors: Jennifer Farquhar Stella D’Oro Michelle Treviño

On the cover: Left to right and back front Brian Wickstrom, Mark Basgall, Liz Honeysett, Bill Hildebrandt, Robert Jobson, Laurie Swenson, Kathleen Smith in Warm Springs, 1979 (Photograph from SCA Archives).


From the Presidents

As I Write This Column…. C. Kristina Roper, President

As I write this column, it is the height of the summer field season. SCA members are scattered around the state and beyond, participating in surveys and excavations, volunteering as archaeological site stewards, learning and teaching. I get messages from colleagues telling of the pleasures of returning to a familiar desert playa or coastal bluff, spending hours absorbed in the pleasures of discovery. Fun, isn’t it? Unless you live under a rock, you know that California, along with the rest of the United States, promotes the preservation of our nation’s material culture and heritage during Archaeology Month. Recently California changed the month this is celebrated from May to October to integrate with California's kindergarten through Grade 12 curriculum on Native American and California history. OK, now for the pitch: Who can possibly better convey the value and importance of our diverse cultural heritage than you, SCA members? The success of Archaeology Month depends on you. As you are working the various puzzle pieces and on your research projects, gathering and arranging them to tell a story, know

that others throughout the state, both children and adults, think what you do is fascinating! You are all potential story tellers. Share your work this year by taking the time to give a talk at a public forum where you live; create a small exhibit for display in your local library; give a show-and-tell at a public school. There are many possibilities. Several SCA members have already stepped forward and offered to plan events in their home towns. For more suggestions on what you could do, check out the list on the Archaeology Month page on SCAHome.org. Become a Fan of the Society for California Archaeology on Facebook and post your event. Help make this year’s Archaeology Month a success. It all depends on you.

Society for California

Archaeology Executive Board

2009-2010

President C. Kristina Roper Sierra Valley Cultural Planning (559) 561-3816 [email protected] Immediate Past President Mark Allen Department of Geography and Anthropology, Cal Poly Pomona, (909) 869–3577 [email protected] President–Elect Glenn J. Gmoser Caltrans Tel: (916) 651-8167 [email protected] Southern Vice President Colleen Delaney-Rivera CSU Channel Islands [email protected] Northern Vice President Jennifer M. Farquhar Albion Environmental, Inc. (831) 588-1724; [email protected] Secretary Adrian R. Whitaker Far Western Anthropological Research Group (530) 756-3941 ext. 119 [email protected] Treasurer John Burge 17 Williamsburg Lane Chico, CA 95926; (530) 342-3680 [email protected] SCA Business Office Denise Wills, E.D. 1692 Mangrove Ave. #153 Chico, CA 95926 (530) 342-3537 [email protected]


SCA Business and Activities

Committee Reports

Grants and Fundraising Report Submitted by Richard Victor Olson As a long-standing SCA member (29 years!), I am pleased to introduce myself as the 2009-2010 Grants and Fundraising Chairperson, and to donate my time to support our professional organization. I would like to take this opportunity to remind the membership of just how important it is to continue to financially support our Society during this economic downturn. While we are all experiencing tough fiscal challenges at home and at work, we urgently need to continue to keep SCA financially solvent. The Society has numerous long-standing programs that need annual funding to keep going, some examples being: • The Native American Programs Committee,

which includes the California Indian Sponsorship Program;

• The California Archaeological Site Stewardship Program (CASSP), which sponsors training workshops throughout the state; and,

• The James A. Bennyhoff Memorial Fund Award, just to name a few.

Also, without the generous donation and support of volunteer time and underwriter money, the SCA would have a very difficult time putting on our Annual Meeting, year after year. I am appreciative of your generous donations of time and money that helped make this year’s 43rd Annual Meeting in Modesto such a success. I am looking for individuals and corporations to "step up to the plate" once again for our 2010 Annual Meeting to be held in Riverside, at the historic Mission Inn. March is just around the corner, so I would love to see your tax deductible donations start to come in as soon as possible. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Checks may be sent to: Society for California Archaeology 1692 Mangrove Ave. #153 Chico, CA 95926 Should you have any questions regarding donations or have fundraising ideas, feel free to contact me at: (916) 366-0101 (Home) or (916) 274-0606 (Office). I can be reached via email at [email protected]. Or contact Denise at [email protected]; (530) 342-3537.


Archaeology Committees

2009-2010

Advanced Annual Meeting Planning Donna Gillette [email protected] Archaeology Month Representative Laura Leach-Palm [email protected] Bennyhoff Memorial Award Tom Origer [email protected] CA Arch Site Stewardship Program Beth and Chris Padon [email protected] [email protected] Curation Representative Cindy Stankowski [email protected] Grants and Fundraising Richard Victor Olson [email protected] Membership Patricia Welsh McCorkle [email protected] Native American Programs Janet Eidsness [email protected] and Cassandra Hensher [email protected] Nominations Patricia Mikkelsen [email protected] Proceedings Sharon Waechter [email protected] Professional Standards and Ethics Christine McCullom [email protected] Student Affairs Shannon Tushingham [email protected] Website Stella D’Oro [email protected]


Committee Reports, continued

Proceedings Report Submitted by Sharon Weachter As many of you know by now, Proceedings 22 – papers from the 2008 Annual Meeting – is available as a searchable electronic document on the SCA web site (www.scahome.org/publications/index.html). All future issues will be published in electronic format only, as a way of making the Proceedings more widely available and at the same time less costly to produce. Thanks to the efforts of Don Laylander and Stella D’Oro, abstracts and articles from Volumes 17-22 (2004-present) can also be found at the SCA web site. Don and Stella also have posted abstracts from all earlier Proceedings (Volumes 1-16; 1988-2004) and are now in the process of posting the papers from those volumes, as well. Eventually, you will be able to log on to the web site and have any paper or volume quite literally at your fingertips. If you don’t already make use of it, be sure to familiarize yourself with the valuable research resources available on the SCA website: www.scahome.org/publications/index.html and www.scahome.org/about_ca_archaeology/index.html

Visit us at www.scahome.org

Nominations Report Submitted by Patricia Mikkelsen

The SCA is currently accepting nominations for the following positions:

• President

• Northern Vice-President

• Secretary

Please forward your nominations to Patricia Mikkelsen at [email protected]. The deadline for nominations is September 1, 2009. Election ballots will be mailed to SCA members in October 2009. Your help really will make a difference!


Committee Reports, continued

CASSP Activities Submitted by Beth and Chris Padon Only a month after the SCA meetings in Modesto, the California Archaeological Site Stewardship Program (CASSP) held a volunteer training workshop at Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. Margaret Kress, State Park Archaeologist, hosted this two-day workshop for 17 new site stewards and one site steward alum. We thank site steward Pat Hadel for recruiting several of these new site stewards from San Diego State University. We look forward to their involvement with CASSP. There will be one initial volunteer training workshop and two advanced training workshops in the next few months. Please check the CASSP website (www.cassp.org) for any last-minute changes.

On the second day of the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area workshop, participants reviewed procedures for inspecting their archaeological site and completing the site visit report. Linn Gassaway, archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service, will host our next training workshop for new volunteers. This workshop will be held on August 22 and 23 at the Sequoia National Forest Hume Lake Ranger District Office, 35860 East Kings Canyon Road, Dunlap, CA 93621. Space is limited, so if you are interested in joining, please register by contacting Beth or Chris Padon by phone at (562) 431-0300 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Registration for this workshop will close by August 15, 2009, or earlier if space is filled. The workshop fee of $25 will be collected at the door.

Advanced training workshops are available for current CASSP volunteers. These focused workshops train CASSP volunteers in topics that will help them become better site monitors. There is no registration cost for advanced training workshops; however, only CASSP volunteers can participate in these workshops. Registration is required for advanced workshops. Again, space is limited, so please register as soon as you can. The last day to register is the Monday before the weekend in which the workshop will be held. The upcoming advanced workshops are: • October 17–18: GPS and GIS for site stewards at

the Bishop BLM Field Office. • November 7–8: Site relocation and mapping for site

stewards at Anderson Marsh Historic State Park.

Kirk Halford, archaeologist at the Bishop Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Field Office, will host the October workshop. The two-day workshop agenda includes a review of archaeological site mapping techniques, use of a handheld GPS unit, field practice with the GPS unit, and a demonstration on how the data collected in the field will generate a computer map using BLM Geographic Information System (GIS) programs. Leslie Steidl, archaeologist at the Northern Buttes District, California State Parks, will host the November workshop. The two-day workshop agenda includes a review of archaeological survey techniques, field relocation of recorded archaeological sites within Anderson Marsh, updating prior documentation for these sites, and a demonstration on how to complete the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) series 523 site record forms. For more information or to register for either of these advanced workshops, please contact Beth or Chris Padon at (562) 431-0300 or by e-mail at [email protected].

The SCA encourages your committee reports for future newsletters.


Photo from www.parks.ca.gov

Liaison Reports

Historical Archaeology in the News Submitted by Jenny E. Haggar The State of California is proposing to close 220 state park units because of a record deficit and reduced revenue. The list includes state beaches, state recreation areas, state parks, museums, and state historic parks (SHPs). These closures include units all over the state and will have a serious, negative impact on the public’s ability to learn about the history of California. Currently, the list is a “proposal,” and potential closures will not be in effect until after Labor Day. As of June 19, the list of all museums and SHPs to be closed is as follows: Los Angeles, Los Encinos, Santa Susana Pass, Will Rogers, California State Capitol Museum, the Governor’s Mansion, Leland Stanford Mansion, Railtown 1897, State Indian Museum, Sutter’s Fort, California Mining and Mineral Museum, Columbia, Indian Grinding Rock, Chumash Painted Cave, La Purisima Mission, Bale Grist Mill, Benicia Capitol, Jack London, John Marsh Home, Petaluma

Adobe, Sonoma, Folsom Powerhouse, Marshall Gold Discovery, California Citrus, Olompali, Point Cabrillo Light Station, Monterey, Point Sur, San Juan Bautista, Fort Humbolt, Anderson Marsh, Bidwell Mansion, Shasta, Weaverville Joss House, William B. Ide Adobe, Fort Ross, San Pasqual Battlefield, Castro Adobe, Point Montara Light Station, Santa Cruz Mission, Bodie, Empire Mine, Malakoff Diggings, Antelope Valley Indian

Museum, Colonel Allensworth, Fort Tejon, and Tomo-Kahni. A few state parks that earn enough revenue on their own will remain open. The only SHPs that will remain open are Old Sacramento, Hearst San Simeon, and Old Town San Diego. For more information or to comment, contact California State Parks or your state legislator (California State Parks). The Plumas National Forest, Feather River Ranger District Archaeologist, and volunteers are excavating the historic “Hughes Place” in Butte County from June 22 to 25. The site includes a Swain Lumber Company saw mill dating to 1910–1938 and a ranch dating to the 1940s. For more information, call archaeologist Jamie Moore at (530) 532-7463 (U.S. Forest Service). Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced in June that the National Park Service will waive entrance fees at all National Parks on the weekends of June 20–21, July 18–19, and August 15–16. Many associated gift shops, restaurants, and tour operators are also offering special promotions these weekends. Take the opportunity to explore your National Parks! Historic parks in California managed by the National Park Service include Alcatraz Island, the Presidio of San Francisco, and Cabrillo (National Park Service).

American Cultural Resource Association Liaison Ronald V. May [email protected] California Council for the Promotion of History Liaison Stephen Bryne (510) 622-0152 [email protected] Information Center Liaison Amy Huberland (530) 898-6256 [email protected] Legislation Liaison Stephen Bryne (510) 622-0152 [email protected] Native American Heritage Commission Liaison Mark Allen (909) 869-3577 [email protected] Publicity Liaison Michelle Treviño [email protected] OHP Liaison Susan Stratton (209) 295-3910 [email protected] Historical Archaeology Liaison Jenny E. Haggar (760) 337-4473 [email protected] Society for Historical Archaeology Liaison Marlesa Gray (520) 760-0209 [email protected] Society for American Archaeology Liaison Arlene Garcia-Herbst [email protected] State Historical Resources Commission Liaison Glenn Gmoser (559) 561-3816 [email protected]


Archaeology Liaisons

2009-2010


Liaison Reports, continued

Legislative Liaison Report Submitted by Stephen Bryne 111th U.S. Congress H.CON.RES.2. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) should incorporate consideration of the effects of global warming and sea level rise into the comprehensive conservation plan for each coastal national wildlife refuge. Calls for such plans to address how global warming and sea level rise will affect: (1) the ecological integrity, archaeological and cultural values, and distribution, migration patterns, and abundance of fish, wildlife, and plant populations and related habitats of the refuge; (2) areas within the refuge that are suitable for use as administrative sites or visitor facilities; and (3) opportunities for compatible wildlife-dependent recreational uses of the refuge. Calls for the Director of the USFWS to conduct an assessment of the potential impacts of global warming and sea level rise on coastal national wildlife refuges. 2009–2010 California Legislative Session SB 359. Existing law, the California Public Records Act (CPRA), governs the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies (Gov. Code Section 6250 et seq.) In general, all public records are open to public inspection, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure (Section 6254). Disclosure of archaeological site information and reports maintained by state and local agencies is not required, per Section 6254.10. This bill updates the statute within the CPRA that contains an alphabetical list of records exempt from disclosure. The bill also requires that a standing committee of the Legislature introduce a bill at the beginning of each two-year session that updates this alphabetical list of records exempt from disclosure under the CPRA. SB 833. This is a Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee omnibus bill that provides technical cleanup and clarification to previous legislation regarding mine reclamation, conservation, and protection of Native American remains, among other things. Existing law establishes the Native American

Heritage Commission. Existing law requires the commission, once it receives notification of Native American human remains from a county coroner, to notify the most likely descendants; the descendants, with permission of the landowner, may inspect the site and recommend appropriate dignified disposition of the human remains and grave goods. Existing law requires, when the commission is unable to identify descendants, the descendants fail to make a recommendation, or other specified circumstances occur, that the landowner re-inter the human remains, and perform at least one of three activities to protect the site, including recording a document with the county in which the property is located. This bill would require that the document be titled "Notice of Reinternment of Native American Remains" and include a legal description of the property, the name of the owner of the property, and the owner's acknowledged signature. AJR 3. On the very last day of the Bush administration, the Department of the Interior proposed a new five-year plan for oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The plan proposes to lease as much as 300 million acres of the OCS to drilling, including about 6 million acres off the coast of Humboldt, Mendocino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Diego Counties. This measure would request that the U.S. Congress reinstate the federal offshore oil and gas leasing moratorium for the 2009 fiscal year and beyond. AJR 3 notes that California's ocean waters are home to four important sanctuaries that are, by definition, areas of special conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, cultural, archaeological, scientific, educational, and aesthetic qualities, and are particularly sensitive to the impacts of oil development.



Report from the California Information Centers

Submitted by Amy Huberland

Wow, another year has gone by and it’s time to submit a report on the 2009 Annual California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS) meetings in Sacramento. The meetings were attended by CHRIS coordinators and staff from 11 Information Centers (ICs), Office of Historic Preservation (OHP)/CHRIS Coordinator Eric Allison, State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) Wayne Donaldson, and Deputy SHPO Stephen Mikesell. A number of important issues were discussed, including the OHP/IC Annual Grants language; the pending OHP/IC Cooperative Agreement; OHP/IC data exchange standards; the CHRIS electronic fee structure and an associated user evaluation questionnaire; CHRIS Consultant List qualifications; CHRIS electronic and digital data processing standards; new electronic fees, products, and services; non-confidential records search standards; and emergency response records search protocol and fees; along with a general discussion of the CHRIS computer/information technology (IT) architecture. In addition, Tom Gates and David Cao from SWCA Environmental Consultants in Sacramento provided a demonstration of their application for digitization of resources listed on the State Historic Property Directory for Yuba County. IC/OHP Annual Grants The annual grants awarded to all CHRIS centers provide baseline funding and outline required services, including maintenance of the IC archives (records, reports, and base maps), and submission of an annual report. Much of the grant language is outdated and needs revision. John Thomas, OHP Grants and Contracts Officer, indicated that additional federal funds may be available to the ICs this year. The CHRIS will be discussing the need for baseline funding for all the ICs as well as the possibility of additional support for specific ICs to cover important projects such as conversion to a digital/electronic information system. OHP/IC Cooperative Agreement The OHP/IC Cooperative Agreement has been under construction for a number of years. The purpose of this agreement is to clarify and make binding the relationship between OHP and any given IC as well as that IC’s host institution (typically a state college or university). The Agreement will include a “mission

statement” and will address: (1) the organization of the CHRIS; (2) ownership of materials; (3) meetings, communication, and decision-making between OHP and the ICs; (4) control and reporting of funds; and (5) opening and closing of an IC, as well as the issues of office workspace, security for records

and electronic data, and categories of IC personnel and their relationship to the university department and/or other host institution administrative staff.

OHP/IC Data Exchange Standards The new OHP Tracking and Information System (OTIS) will convert existing data at OHP to a modernized system incorporating GIS, a multi-user database management system, and web-based and basic document management technologies. To maximize the efficiency of data flow between OHP and the ICs under this new system, the IC/OHP Information Management Planning (IMP) committee was formed. Discussions have centered on an arrangement wherein cultural resources information submitted to OHP can receive a “primary” number designation assigned by the appropriate IC, which will then be included in a concordance that links the resource primary number with the OHP property number, program reference number, and resource status code.

Often, reports associated with projects under review by OHP contain information not submitted on a standard California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) series 523 resource record form. However, to meet the CHRIS standards for primary number or trinomial assignment, at least a facsimile of the DPR 523 form is needed so that the resource can be mapped and the information linked to a specific hard copy and/or electronic document. Much of the upcoming data exchange between OHP and the ICs is likely to focus on information submitted to OHP relating to the built environment. For ICs such as the South Central Coastal IC at CalState University, Fullerton and the Northwest IC at Sonoma State University, processing and assigning primary numbers to the thousands of building records submitted to OHP



Report from the California Information Centers, Continued through the Certified Local Government grants as well as other projects will entail a huge amount of time and labor. Other processes needing standardization between OHP and the ICs include Geographic Information System (GIS) digitization and maintenance as well as standards for PDFs. CHRIS Electronic Fee Structure In 2007, the State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC) approved a two-year trial period for testing the new electronic services fee structure for CHRIS Information Center records searches. Those ICs that have all or some of their resource and report information already converted to digital (GIS) format have been conducting record searches electronically using the proposed electronic fee structure. The new electronic rate schedule reflects a shift from front-end work (actual time spent filling a request) to back-end work and costs (costs for networking, GIS expertise, additional hardware and software, the upkeep on both the paper and digital systems during and after the transition period, and the training to bring staff up to speed on the new technology) as well as the need to maintain annual revenue levels. Last year, concerns were expressed regarding the viability of the new electronic records search fees, particularly as applied to large records searches. It was therefore recommended that the testing period for the new fee structure be extended and a User Evaluation Questionnaire be distributed to consultants, tribes, agencies, students, historical societies, and other IC clients. The questionnaire will address a range of issues, including records search quality and turnaround time, fairness of fees, quality of public service, educational tours and internships, and general customer service. CHRIS Consultant List and Access to Confidential Information Qualifications In the past, the CHRIS Information Centers have relied on excerpts from the Secretary of Interior and State Standards to verify the qualifications of individuals for access to confidential information housed at the ICs. More recently, it has become apparent that redefinition of these standards will be

necessary, for example, to clarify whether individuals working within fields “closely related” to anthropology, archaeology, and history should have access to information regarding the locations of archaeological sites. The group decided to keep the qualifications for access separate from those pertaining to inclusion on the CHRIS Consultant List. Based on recommendations from the SHPO and Deputy SHPO, the group also decided to include the field of landscape architecture as one of the Consultant List categories. CHRIS Electronic and Digital Data Processing Standards; New Products and Services The IMP committee has been working on a description of “core” electronic and digital processing standards for the CHRIS, standards for submission of GIS and other electronic data to the CHRIS, and a future Electronic Operations Manual. Discussions at the 2009 annual meeting included whether to adopt the database and GIS desktop application currently used by a number of the ICs as a standard for all the ICs, the use of a specific projection for the GIS data along with standard datasets and feature classes, and the use of parcel map data and aerial photos as background layers. As certain ICs move forward rapidly into the “digital” world, requests for new products and services such as in-house consultant electronic records searches, shapefiles as a GIS product, and possible “subscriptions” to GIS and other data will need to be assessed. Non-Confidential Records Search Standards Most of the CHRIS ICs provide “quick checks,” “project reviews,” and/or non-confidential records searches for planners and other individuals that do not qualify for the “confidential information” consisting primarily of the locations of and specific data regarding archaeological sites. However, the format and informational content, as well as the fees charged for these searches, are not identical among the centers. In addition, further dialogue is necessary to compare recommendations provided by the ICs (typically for an archaeological survey or similar work) as part of these reviews. Finally, many of the ICs expressed concerns regarding the inconsistency of planning departments in following the ICs’ recommendations and possible solutions to that problem.



Report from the California Information Centers, Continued Emergency Records Search Protocol and Fees During last year’s forest fires, the California Department of Forestry (Cal Fire) worked with the CHRIS ICs to obtain cultural resources information in association with efforts to avoid and protect sites during that emergency situation. Subsequently, it became apparent that specific protocol was needed for the CHRIS to respond not only to fires, but to all emergency situations. The “Emergency Response Records Search Protocol and Fees” was adopted by the CHRIS in May 2009 to respond to emergencies by or on behalf of government agencies or their designees. OHP Historic Property Database Digitization Tom Gates and David Cao from SWCA Environmental Consultants in Sacramento provided a demonstration of a process to digitize the locations of historical resources recorded on the old Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) forms. Most commonly used for buildings, the old forms often lack a location map, and may only include a street address or assessor’s parcel number. To maximize the accuracy of their approach, SWCA verified the building’s address against the current Yuba County parcel map layer and matched this information to the OHP property number and the common (or historical) name of the property. When completed, their system provides the location of the parcel within which the historical resource is located, as well as a direct link to a PDF of the resource record and a version of the OHP Historic Property database. Further discussion will pertain to the viability of this approach compared with other techniques for mapping the huge numbers of built environment resources recorded in urban areas within the state.

Society for Historical Archaeology/SCA Liaison Report Submitted by Karen K. Swope If you don’t already make use of it, be sure to familiarize yourself with the research resources available on the SHA website: www.sha.org/research_resources/default.cfm. Tools for cataloging, analysis, and curation of historical material culture are just a part of the information posted there. Also remember that the SHA website lists current employment postings for historical archaeologists: www.sha.org/students_jobs/employmentopp.cfm. The SHA newsletter provides a worldwide forum where California historical archaeologists are advised to routinely post information about current work. Both the “Current Projects” section of the SHA website and the “Current Research” section of the SHA newsletter publish information regarding pertinent and ongoing projects. The Society for Historical Archaeology 2010 Annual Meeting is scheduled for January 6–9 at Amelia Island Plantation near Jacksonville, Florida. Amelia Island Plantation (www.aipfl.com) is a 1,350-acre island resort situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, just 29 miles from Jacksonville International Airport. Average temperature in January is a balmy 65 degrees F. The conference theme may prove to be of particular interest to California archaeologists—Coastal Connections: Integrating Terrestrial and Underwater Archaeology. Check the SHA website for more information and updates as the conference approaches: www.sha.org/about/conferences/2010.cfm. Pat Garrow, SHA Conference Committee Chair, has expressed a specific desire that SCA members be well represented at the meeting.



The Society for American Archaeology News Report Submitted by Arleen Garcia-Herbst, SCA Liaison to the SAA

Attend the 75th Anniversary SAA Meeting in St. Louis, April 14-18, 2010 (Photograph from www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=4630)

SAA Archaeological Record Editor Andrew Duff asks that you consider writing a short article on your research in California for publication in the newsletter, then write a longer, more detailed treatment for submission to American Antiquity. If you have ideas for an article, a small group of papers on a common topic or theme, or thoughts about a special issue on California archaeology, please contact Andrew Duff ([email protected]) or one of the Associate Editors to discuss or plan it with you. In addition, Executive Director Tobi Brimsek hopes more California archaeologists will be attending and presenting a paper the 75th Anniversary SAA meeting in St. Louis on April 14–18, 2010 (submission deadline is September

10, 2009, at 3 p.m.). She also encourages all California archaeologists who are not currently members, especially students, to please consider joining. For those interested in a career in cultural resources management in California, the SAA Committee on Curriculum has created a model for an applied archaeology graduate training program presented in SAA Archaeological Record Volume 9, Issue 1. For those that work on federal property in California, the SAA has provided comments to the Department of the Interior on the proposed rule for Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains under NAGPRA.


Meeting Reports and Minutes

SCA Executive Board Meeting, July 16-17, 2009 Submitted by Adie Whitaker Board Attendees: C. Kristina Roper (President), Mark Allen (Immediate Past President), Glenn Gmoser (President Elect), Colleen Delaney-Rivera (Southern VP), Jennifer Farquhar (Northern VP), John Burge (Treasurer), Adie Whitaker (Secretary), Denise Wills (Business Office Manager), Christine McCollum (Ethics and Standards Committee Chair), Rich Olson (Fundraising Committee Chair). July 16, 2009

- Meeting brought to order at 9:35 AM. - Previous Minutes: Board Approved

unanimously approved minutes from previous meetings

- Treasurer’s Report: Budget for year to date is very similar to last year at this time. We brought in more than expected for the Annual Meeting. Membership is a little down from last year but we are doing alright.

- Job Posting and Corporate Memberships

o Members may post jobs on the SCA website whenever they wish

o A motion was unanimously passed which reinstates the corporate membership at $150/yr. Corporate members will receive unlimited job postings on the SCA website and a 1/4 page add in the SCA meeting program. In addition they may have an advertisement through the SCA website.

o Non-members (i.e. headhunting firms) not representing a corporate member must pay the equivalent of a corporate membership ($150) in order to post.

- Native American Programs Committee: Motion was passed to create a separate checking account for the use of the Native American Programs Committee (NAPC). The SCA Board will budget and fund the account on Jan 1, starting in 2010 and thereafter—pending available funds in the general budget.

In addition, it is expected that the NAPC committee chair will conduct fundraising, and that that all revenues and expenses will be paid in and out of this account managed through the treasurer.

- Business Office Update: We have 1020 Members (235 students). Down a little from last year (~1200)

- Committee Reports: o CAAMP (advance meeting planning):

Future meetings: 2010 in Riverside, 2011 in Rohnert Park, 2012 in planning phase

o Standards and Ethnics: - Christine McCollum has started a

regular interview series for the Newsletter talking to practicing archaeologists about standards and ethics. Suggestions for people to interview are requested.

o CASSP (Site Stewardship): - email from Beth Padon - Upcoming Site Stewardship

workshop August 22-23rd - Upcoming GIS/GPS workshop

October 17-18 - Upcoming mapping/remapping

workshop November 7-8 - Data Sharing Meeting: Board Approved

Data Sharing Meeting Dates. o Southern Data Sharing Meeting:

October 3 at Pomona College o Northern Data Sharing Meeting:

October 17 at the Army Corps SF Bay Model Visitor Center, Sausalito

- Meeting Adjourned at 4:00 pm July 17, 2009 - At 9:00 am, Board met at Pacific Legacy, Inc.

offices in Chico to organize and archive old records and SCA publications in preparation for moving these materials to a storage space in Chico.

- Meeting Adjourned at 11:30 am.


SCA News and Not

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Is the First State Park in the Nation to Host a Passport in Time Archaeological Project Submitted by Steven Ptomey

The Allensworth schoolhouse. (Photograph from http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=25525) On Monday June 15th, Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park hosted the first Passport in Time (PIT) project by a non-federal entity in the nation. PIT is a nationwide program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service that matches volunteers with an interest in archaeology with U.S. Forest Service projects. The volunteers are trained and supervised by professional archaeologists and help complete projects that would otherwise go unfinished. Recently, the managers of the national PIT program opened their program and database of volunteers to non–Forest Service agencies.

The Chief Interpreter at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park (a former Forest Service archaeologist) saw an opportunity to reach a new body of volunteers and accomplish the first archaeological survey of the entire park at no cost to the state. The PIT program’s enrollment fee was funded by the “Friends of Allensworth,” the park’s cooperating association.

Volunteers, who range from students to retired couples and hail from places as diverse as Australia, North Carolina, Nevada, Oregon, and local Porterville College, are donating 40 to 80 hours each. This will

save State Parks an estimated $25,000 to $35,000 to complete a needed project for the upcoming revision of the park’s general plan. The program began June 15 with volunteers receiving an orientation of the park and training on how to conduct an archaeological survey, what to look for, and how to record historic ruins. The volunteers also got the chance to talk with State Parks Director Ruth Coleman via video conference as she welcomed the first PIT program volunteers. The video system at Allensworth has been used to bring the Parks interpretive program to youths in the inner cities of California who could not otherwise visit the park in person. The town of Allensworth was founded in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth and several other men, and represents the only all-black township in California that was founded, financed, built, populated, and governed by African Americans. It is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. Learn more by contacting Steven Ptomey, State Park Interpreter, at (661) 849-4012 or [email protected], or Stephen Bylin, Mojave Sector Superintendent, at (661) 248-2327 or [email protected].

The interior of the Hindsman Store. (Photograph from http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=25525)


Photo from http://www.asmaffiliates. com/rkaldenberg.htm

Thoughts on Receiving the Society for California Archaeology’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 Submitted by Russell L. Kaldenberg, ASM Affiliates, Cheyenne, Wyoming

“In the truly creative life there is little difference between work and recreation.” —Paul H. Ezell, paraphrased from Arnold Toynbee I want to thank the Society for California Archaeology (SCA) for honoring me with this prestigious award. I was on the Executive Board in 1980 when the award was created. Its interesting history is that the Mark R. Harrington Award for Conservation Archaeology was the only award back then. We wanted to honor Dr. Emma Lou Davis with an award, but she did not fit our perspective of what a conservation archaeologist was in those days, as she used backhoes and bulldozers to get at the archaeology she wanted to study. Therefore, the first Lifetime Achievement Award went to “Davey.” That was 29 years ago, and a long list of honored archaeologists have followed in her footsteps. Now, I am so honored. I was elected to the SCA Board of Directors in 1978, served as Southern California Vice President for two terms, and then served as President. The years on the board were enlightening and sometimes tumultuous. My mentors are archaeologists as varied as Meg Conkey, N. Nelson Leonard III, Thomas F. King, and Paul H. Ezell. I have been influenced greatly by Claude N. Warren, Jay von Werlhof, and Billy Clewlow. John Cook, Charles Bull, Ronald V. May, Tim Gross, Sue Ann Cupples, and Brian Mooney influenced my career during my time in San Diego. My Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mentors are Eric Ritter, Rick Hanks, Pat Barker, Garth Portillo, Chris Raven, and Bill Olsen. These outstanding archaeologists have contributed greatly to the preservation of our knowledge of prehistory and assisted me in my BLM career. Dennis Casebier, Wes Chambers, Dee Schroth, Jerry Schaeffer, Steve Horne, Mark Sutton, Alan Gold, Mike Moratto, and Ken Wilson have all contributed to the success of the health of cultural resources management in California and have greatly influenced my successes. Greg Greenway, Pat Likens, and Barbara White provided tremendous insight into working with the Forest Service in northern

California and made me a better cultural resources manager by sharing their goodwill and knowledge with me. I have been honored to have worked closely with a new generation of federal archaeologists such as Gina Jorgensen, Kim Cuevas, Erik Zaborsky, Tammy Whitley, Kirk Halford, and Mike Baskerville. Long days of surveys with Helen Wells, Mark Allen, Mike Walsh, Clarus Backes, Jan Townsend, Ruth Musser, and David Whitley have been fruitful and helped round out an enlightened federal career. I had a

remarkable time with Terry Jones, reviewing Mark Allen’s program at Cal Poly Pomona, and seeing first-hand the remarkable educational environment being

provided to a new generation of archaeologists by Mark and Terry. I also honor Roger Kelly, retired with the National Park Service and my co-director for the Paleontology and Cultural Resources Action Team (PACRAT) and the Millennium Conference, and Buford Crites for their years of wisdom and support in bringing archaeology to the public. I am indebted to Carolyn Shepherd for assisting me with a smooth transition from the BLM to China Lake as the Command Archaeologist and Tribal Liaison. I thank her for the opportunity and for the exciting times I had managing sites with our site stewards and their trainers Beth and Chris Padon. Bill and Charlie Wight, Bill and Barbara Gossett, Sandy and Fran Rogers, Corey and Louie Wincn, Jerry and Mary Grimsley, Virginia Bickford, Carol Ormsbee, and Steve Swartz are all important to my life, and I thank them for their dedication to the identification and preservation of the prehistory and history of California. Bill Hildebrandt and Amy Gilreath helped in my indoctrination of the archaeology of the North Range at China Lake. I am grateful to them. Pat Martz was instrumental in my serving on the California Historic Resources Commission. Lynn


Thoughts on Receiving the Society for California Archaeology’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 Continued Gamble was one of the first people I “hired” when I was the California Desert District Archaeologist; she worked at the “Pork Jerky” site along the west side of the Salton Sea, and the rest is history. Gerrit Fenenga served as an interim roommate during my early days in Forest Falls; we talked into the night chugging Red Mountain wine and telling tall tales about sites. Needless to say, he has and continues to greatly influence my archaeological interests. Richard Hughes and Dave Frederickson were always there for discussion about hard science and anthropology. I thank them for their assistance, always with a smile. I had the privilege of “discovering” and working with Agnes Bierman Babcock’s wonderful site notes from the late 1940s and early 1950s, and seeing her data integrated into archaeological information of the early 2000s. The younger members of the SCA should remember that they are here largely because some of us older folks did a lot more than just show up for work to save sites; we risked our jobs, our homes, and our safety at times to stop development long before there were adequate laws. Chester King once sat in a backhoe bucket to stop a development, and his thoughts were about Nirvana, thinking that the backhoe operator was going to crush him. Times are different today, but some of us remember the founding years very well. We all made sacrifices. The SCA is currently active south of the border with archaeologists Julia Vendimes and Don Laylander. We are assisting our Baja California colleagues in preserving and documenting their archaeology. I am very pleased to have been a part of developing that relationship and to have been instrumental in building a foundation to ensure that the National Historic Preservation Act applies both north and south of the border on undertakings that are initiated in the US. A long time ago, Indian involvement in California archaeology occurred only sporadically. As one of the early supporters of Indian involvement in their history, I was called the “Ayatollah of Archaeology” by one of our esteemed colleagues for supporting the right of Indians to reinter human skeletal remains. I made a lifetime friend during that time, Pete Dangermond, former Director of California State Parks and

Recreation. I am greatly honored to call Richard Stewart, Katherine Saubel, Richard Milanovich, Willie Pink, and Spike and Eleanor Jackson and their families as very good and special friends. When I worked in Milwaukee as the Forest Service’s Regional Archaeologist, I applied for membership in the Wisconsin Archaeological Society and was denied membership because I was told that my reputation of working with Indians had preceded me. Betty Shutler and Flo Shipek generously counseled me about issues in the Great Lakes. Kent Schneider provided leadership and insights into how to work in the eastern United States. David Whitley and I have worked closely for nearly 30 years. On a trip to Puerto Rico to assist the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as we tried to come to grips with the destruction of historic pictographs, we were walking down a path looking at very phallic-looking petroglyphs. A young lady from an eastern university was doing a community project clearing a trail; she was smiling broadly and asked David what he thought the image meant. David, without batting an eye, said, “It looks like a cock and balls to me.” She giggled, and I about died in my tracks. David just smiled and we continued walking. I said, “David, I would have said something more cautious.” He said, “Why? That is what she wanted to hear.” We laughed and laughed, and still laugh about it today. He was right, and we continue to work on interesting projects together. To David “Jack” Scott, my “colleague” from Rag Row, a little oil field community outside of Fellows, California, since kindergarten, and currently the Field Archaeologist for the BLM in Alturas, California, early days of rooting through old burn dumps are fondly remembered and helped us develop into archaeologists. Thanks for the memories, my friend! Finally, I greatly thank Judyth Reed, my best friend, wife, and lifetime partner, for her influence and editing everything from a simple email to wordy papers over the past 30 years. My father, Phillip, is gone, and never thought anyone could make a living in archaeology. In 1972, when I got my first job in archaeology, making $1.62 an hour excavating at the Seeley Stables in Old Town San Diego, his first reaction was, “You made more money than that in high school working in the oil


Thoughts on Receiving the Society for California Archaeology’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 Continued fields.” My children, Casey Kaldenberg and Cathy Ringlstetter, are thanked for their perseverance; I understand why Casey is a retired Air Force math specialist and Cathy is a GIS specialist, and not archaeologists. Archaeology takes one away from home for large periods of time to see interesting places and wonderful artifacts. But, it does take one away from home, and I missed a lot of important family events over the decades while pursuing a career. As Jim Morrison of the Doors sang, “This is the end, my friends….” Like others who have passed through retirement in one form or another, I have a lot of work to finish. It is not the end, my friends. I am indebted to my new colleagues at ASM, Mark Becker, Micah Hale, Mark Gambastiani, and Cat Wright, but John R. Cook in particular, my dig foreman at my master’s thesis site, Rancho Park North, and my esteemed friend and colleague since 1972. Thanks, John, for your friendship over the decades. I appreciate it greatly. Career Highlights • 1971 San Jose State University, BA Anthropology • 1976 San Diego State University, MA, Rancho

Park North excavation, San Dieguito site • 1972–1974 Supervisory Archaeologist, San Diego

State University Foundation • 1974–1975 Archaeologist, RECON, San Diego • 1976 Ranger/Archaeologist, BLM, Barstow • 1977–1978 Area Archaeologist, BLM, Barstow • 1978–1983 District Archaeologist, BLM,

California Desert District Office • 1983–1985 Manager South Coast Resource

Management Area, BLM, Riverside • 1985–1987 Regional Archaeologist, U.S. Forest

Service, Region 9, Milwaukee, Wisconsin • 1987–1988 Wilderness Manager, BLM, Apple

Valley, CA • 1988–1993 Area Manager, BLM, Palm

Springs/South Coast • 1993–2003 State Archaeologist/Tribal Liaison,

BLM Sacramento • 2003–2007 Command Archaeologist, China Lake

Naval Air Weapons Station, Ridgecrest

"This is your life, Jay von Werlhof”: A Symposium Honoring His Nearly Forty Years of Anthropological Contributions in California’s Deserts. Submitted by Russell L. Kaldenberg Let’s celebrate the lifetime accomplishments of archaeologist JAY VON WERLHOF and his 86th Birthday!

The Imperial Valley College desert Museum in Ocotillo, CA. (photograph from http://www.imperial.edu/index.php?pid=855)

This event will be held October 24, 2009 at the Imperial Valley College Museum, Ocotillo, California. Papers, talks, stories and Presentations are being solicited. Contact Russ Kaldenberg at [email protected] for information for presenters. More information to come.

Thanks. Also you might, in your own words, let folks know Jay is home from the hospital and good wishes can be mailed to him at:

Jay von Werlhof P.O. Box 474, Ocotillo, CA 92259


Inaugural Conference on Lime and Lime Kilns in California History, Hosted by Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District Lime played a vital role in California history from the Mission era into the early 1900s. As the principal ingredient for mortar, plaster, and stucco, lime was a critical to the development of California’s cities and towns. Historic lime kilns, quiet reminders of the lime industry, remain standing in many areas of the state, some of them in parks. The Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District, UC Santa Cruz, is proud to host the first-ever conference on the history of lime and lime-making in California. Profits from the conference will benefit restoration projects in the Historic District, at one time the site of California’s largest limeworks. The

conference is open to anyone interested in California history.

Dates and Times Saturday, August 8th, 10 am to 4 pm Horticulture II building, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum Events include lectures, exhibits, and a box lunch and refreshments. Sunday, August 9th, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm Barn Theater, Cowell Lime Works Historic District, UC Santa Cruz Events include a continental breakfast and a field trip on campus. Saturday’s Speakers and Topics Frank Perry: Welcome and brief overview of lime and its importance Karin L. Goetter: “William Gwynn and the History of Lime-Making in Butte County” Sally Morgan: “Life at the Lime Kilns: Archaeological Evidence from the Cowell Lime Works Historic District”

Robert W. Piwarzyk: “Lime Kiln Interpretations: Perspectives from a Docent/Historian” Tom Schreiner: “Contemporary Lime-Making in Mexico and Central America: Clues for Interpreting Early-Day California Kilns” Frank Perry: “The Lime Kilns of Pogonip: A Case Study in Historical Research” Julia G. Costello: “Lime Processing and Use in Spanish and Mexican California” Patricia Paramoure: “Henry Cowell, Lime Baron of Santa Cruz County: His Public and Private Life” Sunday’s Field Trip Frank Perry will lead a tour of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District and explain how the two kinds of kilns operated, how barrels were made, and how the lime was hauled to market. We’ll peek inside the historic workers’ cabins and learn the story behind the 1864 Cardiff House from historian Judy Steen. Time permitting, we will then visit two 1850s lime kilns on the upper campus, including a “mystery kiln” about which little is known. There is some hiking involved; it is mostly level but there is one steep hill. Fees Saturday and Sunday: $60 for members of the host and sponsoring organizations $75 for non-members (includes lectures, Saturday lunch, continental breakfast and field trip on Sunday). Saturday only: $45 for members of the host and sponsoring organizations $55 for non-members (includes lectures and lunch). Sunday only: $15 for members of the host and sponsoring organizations $20 for non-members (includes field trip, continental breakfast, and lectures). Registration To register, please go to http://limeworks.ucsc.edu. Deadline for registration is July 31, 2009. No refunds will be given after that date.

Henry Cowell (photo from the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History).


Professional Standards and Ethics:Who Cares? Submitted by Christine McCollum SCA’s mission statement promotes professional standards and ethical guidelines for the practice of archaeology, and members are expected to adhere to the most ethical course of action in the various archaeological matters that may arise. This article is the first in a series of discussions exploring the state of professional standards ethics in the practice of California archaeology. These articles will be a forum for sharing thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on the subject, with input and perspectives from archaeologists of all levels of education, jurisdictions, and specialties. Professional Standards and Ethics An archaeologist’s perspectives on his or her world changes with every experience and every lesson learned. Our experiences and perspectives tailor our own personal code of ethics, which is evident in our work. Standards are an accepted set of criteria outlining expected methods and outcomes. Professional standards are designed to guide us in our work—to ensure we do what is expected of us legally, in the spirit of science, and out of respect for those our work affects. Professional standards vary by project, jurisdiction, or objective. Ethics are the standards we hold ourselves to. They are influenced by standards, requirements, and expectations and factor into how we do our jobs. Ethics are how we express our moral code, our sense of right and wrong. Ethics drive us to do what we think and know is best, and remind us to maintain accountability for our actions and where our actions are not monitored. When professional standards and guidance are inadequate, ethics must compensate. “We All Know There's a Problem, but We Don't Know What to Do About It.” Dr. Mark Giambastiani of ASM Affiliates, Inc. gave me my first interview for this series and helped me explore the situation we are facing with professional standards for archaeologists in California. Given the vastness of this subject, we led off by acknowledging how difficult it is to know where to begin the discussion. Giambastiani then said, “We all know

there's a problem but we don't know what to do about it. This subject has to get out there.” Giambastiani and I discussed perspectives of standards and the reality that individuals have their own interpretation of what is expected, versus what the guidance actually requires. He said, “There are two kinds of professional standards in cultural resources management. There are basic legal requirements for the various jobs… [and] each type of agency has their own set of standards. Every job is a little different, and every job has its own special set of professional standards or codes tailored to the nature of the work or outcome agency or jurisdiction. Professional standards and ethics may mean something a little different to the federal employee than to the private contractor or the state employee. There are professional standards that are not written down anywhere but are known in terms of what constitutes good work. There are also personal standards—archaeological standards.” So What’s the Problem? One problem is that there is no standard for the standards. Archaeologists understand the legal implications involved in practicing archaeology; however, as Giambastiani said, “There really is no infrastructure to blow the whistle on bad work. There is not a universal set of standards and no repercussions.” If there is no way or no one to ensure archaeological projects are executed properly, then companies or individuals who regard archaeology more as a business and less as a science will continue to win jobs for which they may not have the resources or best interests. Giambastiani observed, “The corporate companies have a different set of standards. Money is the bottom line. The CRM [cultural resources management] unit as part of the larger entity is part of making money for the company.” Good archaeologists understand why and how competitive bids are dangerous to archaeology. A less qualified contractor may win a job by responding with a lower bid and, in addition to the potential for producing poor quality work, the contractor my return with a contract modification requesting for more funds. A more qualified contractor may provide a higher bid that is more accurate for the expectation


Professional Standards and Ethics: Who Cares? Continued of the work to be done, may have a higher potential for producing quality work, and may be less likely to require a major contract modification. A client’s initial investment in the higher-priced contractor who has demonstrated a reputation for producing a good product could save the project considerable time and money in the long run. Giambastiani also discussed why private archaeology firms should be considered more often in the hiring process: “Companies that start out as archaeologists are self sufficient; if you have enough work all of that balances out [and] it’s really not about the money. [Clients] could really invest in some good people and make more money in the long run. “It sadly does come down to money…. That person coming up with that [bid] amount probably doesn't know what it really takes and they will get a lowball and go with them. In [the] Statement of Work (SOW) they say they'll go with both experience and money, but that's not really true. [There needs to be] more oversight in some of the agencies in terms of allocating funds and selecting the agencies. The archaeologist should have more input.” Personal Standards Are Reflected in the Final Product Field directors are familiar with how task-specific direction to crew members can have its benefits when under a time crunch; however, the long-term implications of forgoing a proper introduction can result in a potentially significant loss of scientific data over time. Crew members at all levels need to understand project-specific protocol before engaging in any data collection to reduce confusion and easily avoided mistakes as well as loss of important information. Giambastiani gives his crews the protocols approved for the job at least the night before so all crew members have the opportunity to become familiar with the expectations needed to do the work correctly. He finds this also makes crew members feel more involved in the process. Even where there is no agency-provided standards or guidance for a particular job, the principal investigator should take the initiative to make ensure the entire crew is aware of his or her expectations. For example, there are no

standards or protocol between agencies for many data collection aspects of archaeology; the number of artifacts that constitute a site differs between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other agencies. For such reasons, it is important for the principal investigator to address what will be expected for the particular project. Another concern Giambastiani and I discussed is how bad work can be identified when a product appears well written and thorough from the first pass. “We all kind of know based on the products generated by different companies: sloppy writing, attention to detail, poorly executed figures, appropriate environmental and cultural contexts. [Our] own personal standards are reflected in the final product,” Giambastiani said. This leads to another problem: how can we trust that data were collected and analyzed thoroughly, and that all methodology was followed as stated in the work plan? Giambastiani said, “It all goes back to the review process. Agencies and the SHPO [State Historic Preservation Officer] are our line of defense.” Most of us are aware that reviewing agencies are subject to increasing budgetary issues, high staff turnover, and changing priorities, and how these factors result in a less comprehensive review of reports. One solution some agencies are using to address this problem is to hire contractors to assist in the review process. Giambastiani said, “There needs to be more oversight and thoughtful review of the products we’re reviewing, at the agency level and possibly at the SHPO level. They’re very underfunded…. Farming the reports out to CRM firms doesn't generate a very healthy environment. It all goes back to money. Unless more money goes back in to the system, the review process isn’t going to get any better. Sometimes the review doesn't get done (although) it can be very helpful (and) useful.” But what protocol is in place to ensure the contractors are actually qualified to perform the reviews? A company may win the bid, but does it have enough qualified staff to perform an adequate and thoughtful review? “It All Starts with Your Field School.” Many of us were lucky to have had our foundations in archaeology guided by good mentors and quality fieldwork experiences, which provide the groundwork of quality and the best way to approach and preserve data. Some of us were trained in


Professional Standards and Ethics: Who Cares? Continued archaeological field methods at a field school run by an academic department; some of us learned on the job. And some of us were not trained at all and were put on the job without knowing what to do or what to look for. An archaeologist with an impeccable academic record, immaculate curriculum vitae, and amazing personality can earn the role as a field director or crew chief with very little or even no field experience. An archaeologist may meet the professional criteria required to win a job; however, without strong oversight, he or she may not be qualified to do the work properly. If he or she lacks sufficient regional field experience, the entire crew lacks the guidance needed to execute the tasks specified in the work plan, and the succeeding tasks that rely on field data suffer. Giambastiani recalled “there used to be a four-week or six-week instruction.” He suggested that kind of instruction should be resurrected and should be focused on methods, techniques, and strategies because they provide a good foundation and set the tone for expectation for the archaeologist practicing cultural resources management. “Some people come out of the University of California [system] with an MA or PhD with little field experience. It all starts with your field school,” he said. A Lasting Impression When asked if he had any key messages he’d like to share with the California archaeological community, Giambastiani said, “We all know what good archaeology is. People who aren’t doing good work know they aren’t. The only way we can proceed is by reminding ourselves why we are doing this. When people stop caring and treating archaeology as a business then we’re really in trouble. Sometimes we'll have to sacrifice something; extra time, etc. We've got to keep caring, no matter what.”

Dr. Mark Giambastiani is a Principal Archaeologist with ASM Affiliates, Inc. Giambastiani received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, with a dissertation that focused on prehistoric obsidian use on the Volcanic Tableland in Owens Valley. His research included extensive sourcing data and explored the implications of obsidian use with respect to technological change and settlement patterns. He has conducted Phase I, II, and III studies throughout California and has served as Principal Investigator on a number of data recovery projects in northern and central California. Dr. Giambastiani was Assistant Director at the Archaeological Research Center at California State University, Sacramento from 1995 until 2000 and senior archaeologist for a private CRM firm from 2000 until 2003. Mark resides in Reno, Nevada, with his wife, Dayna, and one-year-old daughter, Amelia. Glass Half Full: Final Thoughts The field of archaeology challenges you, the professional archaeologist, to implement professional standards with every effort you make in archaeology, and allows your ethics to guide your every professional effort. The field of archaeology also challenges you to follow your moral code, even if it leads you to sacrifice some of your time and profit. The field of archaeology in turn challenges the employer to invest his or her time, resources, and guidance in their staff. I invite you to share your thoughts in upcoming articles by contacting me at [email protected]

Dr. Mark Giambastiani (photograph from www.asmaffiliates.com).


SCA Calendar of Events

Submitted by Pat Welsh Upcoming Events: August 17-21, 2009 International Conference on Remote Sensing in Archaeology. Tiruchirappalli, India. http://www.archaeological.org September 17-20, 2009 American Cultural Resources Association (ACRA) 15th Annual Meeting. Providence, Rhode Island. September 25, 2009. Native American Day. California Capital. October 3, 2009. SCA Southern Data Sharing Meeting. Pomona College, Claremont. For more information contact Southern Vice President : [email protected] October 17, 2009. SCA Northern Data Sharing Meeting. USACE Bay Model Facility, Sausalito. For more information contact Northern Vice President: [email protected] December 2- 6, 2009. AAA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia Marriott, Philadelphia, Pa.

Photo from www.yelp.com/biz/bay-model-visitor-center-sausalito

Future Annual Meetings: January 6-9, 2010 Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) Annual Meeting will be held at Amelia Island Plantation near Jacksonville, FL. Website: http://www.sha.org/about/conferences/2010.cfm March 17-20, 2010 The SCA Annual Meeting will be held in Riverside. April 14-18, 2010 SAA’s 75th Anniversary Meeting. St. Louis, Missouri. May 5-8, 2010 Society of Ethnobiology. 33rd Annual Conference. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. August 23-28, 2010 The International Council for Archaeozoology International Conference. Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle and Pierre Et Marie Curie University in Paris, France. For information: Jean-Denis Vigne, [email protected]; Please write “ICAZ2010” in the subject heading. March 30-April 3, 2011 76th SAA Annual Meeting. Sacramento, CA.

Photograph of the same archaeologists on the cover (from the SCA Archives).

sc a newsletter - society for california archaeology2).pdf · 2019-10-15 · sca newsletter 43(2)...

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